Tag: HMST

HomeStreet Bank filed for an IPO late last week as the company looks to raise some capital after heavy losses during the financial crisis of 2008. Here are five things you probably didn’t know about the Seattle-based bank culled from the company’s S-1 filing.

HomeStreet Bank filed for an IPO late last week as the company looks to raise some capital after heavy losses during the financial crisis of 2008. Here are five things you probably didn’t know about the Seattle-based bank culled from the company’s S-1 filing:

1) An IPO by decree? HomeStreet’s under orders from the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to raise regulatory capital and reduce problem assets. After failing to raise enough regulatory capital last year, the company chose to turn to the markets to shore up its books. That makes HomeStreet “subject to certain restrictions on our operations” until it satisfies the government’s capital requirements. An IPO should generate enough cash to lift the increased regulations on the company.

2) Storied history. Founded 90 years ago, HomeStreet has the oldest continuous relationship with Fannie Mae in the country. They were the second company approved by Fannie Mae at its founding in 1938.

3) Scope. As of December 31, 2010, HomeStreet had total assets of $2.49 billion, net loans held for investment of $1.54 billion, deposits of $2.13 billion and shareholders’ equity of $58.8 million. All told, the company operates 20 bank branches and nine stand-alone lending centers from the Puget Sound to Hawaii. The bank’s branches averaged $106.5 million in deposits last year.

4) New Management. In August of 2009, HomeStreet overhauled its executive management team as part of its turnaround strategy. Mark Mason, former CEO of Los Angeles-based Fidelity Federal Bank, was named CEO at HomeStreet. “A substantial portion of Mr. Mason’s career has been spent resolving or recapitalizing troubled institutions, restructuring operations and upgrading troubled loan portfolios,” the company writes in its S1 filing.

5) Turning the corner? HomeStreet’s revenue was up $8 million last year to $39 million (though well off revenue of $90 million in 2007), and the company’s net loss fell from $110 million in 2009 to $34 million in 2010. Once HomeStreet’s regulatory status is lifted, the company plans to expand the number of branches it operates and look at potential acquisitions in the Pacific Northwest.